


The Cold Grip of Fear

by TheLadyOfWorlds



Series: Fifty Kisses Prompt [6]
Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Descriptions of Anxiety and Panic, F/M, Fifty Kisses Prompt, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Panic, Panic Attacks, Ryjaal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-21 08:29:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17040314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLadyOfWorlds/pseuds/TheLadyOfWorlds
Summary: Written for the Fifty Kisses PromptHEREon Tumblr.#6 - A Kiss On a Falling Tear





	The Cold Grip of Fear

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own anything from the Mass Effect game series (unfortunately) but BioWare does.  
> Damn them.  
> I’m just borrowing their characters for fun when my muse grabs me.
> 
> * * *
> 
> Come and say "hi" to me here:  
> [Tumblr](www.somnaborium.tumblr.com) // WordPress // [Instagram](www.instagram.com/somnaborium) // [Twitter](www.twitter.com/somnaborium)

Panic blooms like ice in my chest.

It’s a struggle to gasp out just one shallow breath, the vice of anxiety gripping me tightly; my chest tight and sore as if bricks are being placed on my sternum one by one, adding to the pressure and the pain.

 

_ I can’t breathe. _

 

My vision darkens around the edges, blackness creeping in slowly like a menacing shadow; intangible but wholly real.

 

_ I can’t breathe. _

 

Sweat trickles down my spine, my skin cool and clammy; cold fingers of fear tracing over my body like the touch of a loved one but nowhere near as gentle.

 

_ I can’t breathe. _

 

Tears prickle at the corners of my eyes, streaking over my cheeks; leaving track marks in the barely-there makeup I applied today.  

 

_ I can’t breathe. _

 

My heart thuds painfully fast -  _ thumpthumpthump...thumpthump...thumpthumpthump _ \- rattling like old dice in a cup and it feels as though it could just burst right out, splintering my ribs into sharp shards of bone.

 

_ I can’t -  _

 

A hand on my back, warm and comforting; heavy and solid.

A voice low in my ear, but I can’t make out the words through the haze of panic and the rushing of blood in my ears drowns everything out.

 

_ I can’t -  _

 

Something breaks through the haze, the voice that sounds familiar,  _ feels  _ familiar in the way it washes over her like water; soothing, bringing with it a small measure of focus in the struggle.

 

_ I -  _

 

The weight lifts, ever so slightly and the rush of breath it affords is a welcome reprieve from the tightness across my chest and back.

 

“Breathe, Darling One, just breathe,” the voice again, breaking through and lifting me from the dark grip of anxiety and up into somewhere where I am safe and protected.

 

“I… It  _ hurts _ ,” I gasp out, my own voice hoarse and weak.

“I know,” the hand on my back rubs small circles, leaving warmth where my skin still feels too cold, “you are alright now.  You’re here, you’re here, I’m with you. I have you, Cassi.”

“Jaal…?”  He’s the only one, aside from family, that has ever used my given name.

“Yes,” he chuckles and the sound is like sunlight, golden and pure and so  _ warm _ when it strokes along my chilled body; breaking down more of the panic and taking more of the weight.

 

I sniffle, breath coming easier now, short bursts and hiccups but still better than the breathless pained sensation that had accompanied the cold bloom of the attack.

 

His hands cup my face, searching my eyes for something that tells him I’m coming back, I’m leaving the haze of the panic and shaking off the last grip of the anxiety.

I smile, shaky and weakened, leaning into his touch and feel the last vestiges of fear leaving my body as he leans forward and, with a gentleness that is so entirely him, kisses away the still falling tears on my cheeks.


End file.
